I Fought The Lord And The Lord Won

From birth through age fifty-seven, I considered myself a staunch believer in my creator, but failed to embrace the reality that Jesus was truly the son of God in human form. Those struggles lead me to contrast my life to other organized groups of believers and wonder what I might have been capable of doing if my conceptual belief system had a Jihadist foundation instead of my reality. I describe two brushes with death in which the second event took my life in a totally unexpected direction. I describe that profound shift as if I were writing an op-ed, and the wild-goose chase that ensued. Included is an appendix for struggling and skeptical Christians everywhere. It is a contemporary guide to help the reader become comfortable reading the Bible, so that he or she might discover the answer to each and every issue that faces humankind today. In this unfiltered look at living the American dream and great loss, Jim shares his candid assessment of struggles with his conceptual belief system and the faith required to keep his faith alive for the next generation. His unique early-life encounters provided Jim with a sound foundation, a foundation that will be critically tested from unsuspecting angles as he navigates through life. Shan Rutherford, Senior Pastor, Greenwood Christian Church, Greenwood, Indiana.

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

Women desire to live well. However, living well in this modern world is a challenge. The pace of life, along with the new front porch of social media, has changed the landscape of our lives. Women have been told for far too long that being on the go and accumulating more things will make their lives full. As a result, we grasp for the wrong things in life and come up empty. God created us to walk with him; to know him and to be loved by him. He is our living well and when we drink from the water he continually provides, it will change us. Our marriages, our parenting, and our homemaking will be transformed. Mommy-blogger Courtney Joseph is a cheerful realist. She tackles the challenge of holding onto vintage values in a modern world, starting with the keys to protecting our walk with God. No subject is off-limits as she moves on to marriage, parenting, and household management. Rooted in the Bible, her practical approach includes tons of tips that are perfect for busy moms, including: Simple Solutions for Studying God’s Word How to Handle Marriage, Parenting, and Homemaking in a Digital Age 10 Steps to Completing Your Husband Dealing With Disappointed Expectations in Motherhood Creating Routines that Bring Rest Pursuing the Discipline and Diligence of the Proverbs 31 Woman There is nothing more important than fostering your faith, building your marriage, training your children, and creating a haven for your family. Women Living Well is a clear and personal guide to making the most of these precious responsibilities.

This book lays out the requirements and difficulties that will come with the pursuit of holiness in our Christian lives. Ryle starts out with the way to achieve holiness and the difficulties that arise with pursuing a holy life, and then going throughout the Bible giving true examples of the cost of holiness and the rewards it brings as the Bible promises us. To often we sing and pray for such a life without being willing to undergo the necessary life changes and adjustments to get there. This book lays out what we can expect in such a journey and what God will ask of each of us to get us to the point He wants us to be.

Pastor John Piper shows how to sever the clinging roots of sin that ensnare us, including anxiety, pride, shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust in Battling Unbelief. When faith flickers, stoke the fire. No one sins out of duty. We sin because it offers some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us, until we believe that God is more desirable than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Only the power of God’s superior promises in the gospel can emancipate our hearts from servitude to the shallow promises and fleeting pleasures of sin. Delighting in the bounty of God’s glorious gospel promises will free us for a less sin-encumbered life, to the glory of Christ. Rooted in solid biblical reflection, this book aims to help guide you through the battles to the joys of victory by the power of the gospel and its superior pleasure.

Beleaguered priest Ares Crown has encountered all sorts of trials and tribulations in supporting the hero’s party thus far, and now the Holy Warrior Naotsugu Toudou can no longer wear the holy armor Fried. But there’s good news: The top prize at the local casino is the legendary summetal armor, and that should make a fine substitute. Alas, Ares’s subordinate, Stey, is banned from this casino, and the owner is notoriously corrupt. Has the party’s (already dismal) luck run out?Or will one harried man of the cloth have to take matters into his own hands?!

Published 1882-98, this ten-part work by Harvard's first professor of English became an essential resource for scholars and folklorists.